4ft Fingers, Sheffield Corporation
I love Christmas. No, really I do. Over-commercialised bullshit, vast credit card bills and a chance to see all those family members you carefully avoid throughout the year. Alright, So maybe I’m not such a big fan. However, one major upside to the festive season is the emergence of various Christmas gigs around the country. The Corporation is rapidly becoming my favourite venue and the line up for this little gig was pretty damn great considering all the other shows occurring on exactly the same day, around the UK.
Forsaking the Josephs Well ‘Stars In Their Eyes ‘ extravaganza for something all together closer to home, I arrived at the gig to be greeted by a local band, unbeknown to me and obviously newly formed, called WAR (or War Against Reason to give them their full title ….). Clearly avid followers of the likes of Leftover Crack, Against All Authority and Operation Ivy, they had a certain charm despite being even rougher round the edges than their genre demands. The vocalist had lyrics sheets and the guitarist was fresh out of primary school, but they put on an interesting performance at least. Probably not the best warm up band in the world (or the room for that matter) but mildly enjoyable none the less. (4)
Next up was the band I was waiting to see, MYBE. OK, so I’ve known them for years and I’ve seen them numerous times, but they never, ever fail to entertain live. The likes of opener ‘Soap Opera Story’ and newie ‘Over and Over’ are fun filled, action packed pop tinged punk anthems with huge choruses reminiscent of Goldfinger or early Green Day. As well as the excellent songs and unfeasibly energetic performance, Ross and Jim are, together, one of the sharpest comedy duo’s outside of, well, stand up comedy! Debating the lack of pubic hair in the room during the all ages matinee earlier in the day and the punkness of her majesty, Avril Lavigne, amongst other topics had the majority of the crowd in stitches. ‘Dumbing Down’ and ‘Bobby Dazzler’ were the highlights for me, despite the notable admission of ‘Below the Line’. Fantastic stuff. (9)
Deck Cheese have signed some excellent UK punk bands recently, and I was curious to see whether NOT KATIES would live up to the reputation of the label. Unfortunately, their set left me feeling uninspired, irritated and slightly bored. I’m not the biggest fan of the New Found Glory/Starting Line style of cheeky, chirpy punk light, and I’m even more wary of second rate imitators. While the band were clearly loving every minute of the set, all respect was lost as the vocalist unleashed a comedy-metal style devil horns mid set. Without trying to sound elitist or cynical, it just wasn’t necessary. A minor thing perhaps, but it summed up my feelings of the band. Trying too hard to please the masses without the songs to back it up. While they were listenable and easy on the ears, they bring nothing new to the punk arena and are clearly not my cup of tea. (5)
It was up to local comedy punk covers band THE WANK SINATRAS (or the W*nk Santas as they were known for the night) to liven things up again. Together with their devoted following, the Sinatras never fail to entertain. 50’s style uniforms and outrageous hair styling was present, as well as some fantastically entertaining, if not altogether tight or accomplished punk covers of Christmas classics ranging from ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Bastard’ to ‘White Christmas’. Their fantastic blend of highly amusing and raucous street punk put a smile on many a face, especially when it came to the almost psychotic rendition of ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’. While the novelty may well wear off eventually, for now, the Wank Sinatras are perfect crowd pleasers. (7)
The headline slot was left in the able hands of ‘beer skate punx’ 4FT FINGERS, and they did an excellent job of closing the night. Veterans of the UK scene (and the toilet circuit), they played a variety of songs off their Golf debut ‘At your Convenience’ and this years fantastic ‘From Hero To Zero’ while creating mayhem in the ‘pit’ during the majority of the set. As per usual, the ‘Fingers were as tight as they come, and the likes of ‘Proud To Know You’ and my personally favourite ‘Last Man Standing’ went down a treat. Saying that, looking at the size of the vocalist/lead guitarist, who can only be described as being built like several brick shit houses, nobody was going to express any disappointment with their performance! The drumming in particular was stunning and 4ft Fingers are clearly one of the leading lights in the UK punk scene, without a shadow of a doubt. (8)
All round then, a highly enjoyable night, minus the huge disappointment of Not Katies. Maybe they were having an off night, maybe it was the sound that seemed slightly off, or maybe it was the fantastic performances from The Wank Sinatras, 4ft Fingers and, in particular, Mybe that overshadowed them, but they certainly lost a potential fan in myself. Still, the Corporation does it again, and everyone in the venue went home with a smile on their face if nothing else. Mission accomplished.
Ross
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